Covered 365: Day 247

Four Color #247, Eastern Color, September 1949, Artist: Paul Norris.

I’ve always wondered where that light bulb missing from my dining room chandelier went to. Now I know. Paul Norris took it! And he put it on Flash Gordon’s head on the cover of Four Color #247. Simple elegance from Mr. Norris on this cover.

If it wasn’t for me finding my light bulb I would have went with Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez’s striking cover to World’s Finest #247, the art is good but the content is crazy.

Any cover with a huge Doctor Doom on it should command attention and John Byrne’s rendition on the cover of Fantastic Four #247 is a great example.

I’m not too sure what to think of Brian Stelfreeze’s cover to Flash #247 (1987 series).

A great comic book cover matching each day of the year, 1 through 365. Please chime in with your favourite corresponding cover, from any era.

Walter Durajlija
Walter Durajlija

Walter Durajlija is an Overstreet Advisor and Shuster Award winner. He owns Big B Comics in Hamilton Ontario.

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Chris Meli
5 years ago

Look, if it’s gonna go like this, just make Little Lulu the pick for each day from here on, and we can all find something else to do with the time saved. Simple – absolutely. Elegant – no.

I looked at both the World’s Finest and The Flash but they just weren’t up to the task.

Fairly slim pickings for tomorrow but Batman (Kaluta) is good enough for me to give it the nod. Runner-up to Incredible Hulk (Golden).

I won’t call these great but I will give honorable mention to Captain America (nice Byrne pencils with really nice Rubinstein inks but with poor color choices), Conan (if it wasn’t so goofy it would be awesome), FF (I can imagine some might not care for it, but I’ve always liked this one), Marvel Tales (another Rogers with his unique use of shadow technique on Wolfsbane).

Kubert’s Tarzan fatigue brings him close to the JOWA for the water buffalo’s expression, but the winner is Avengers for “It’s raining Eternals!” (It baffles me why any company trying to sell a book would do this kind of thing. Al Milgrom’s Avengers cover run during this period strikes me as particularly dismal.)

Bud Plant
Bud Plant
5 years ago

Walter, I like the Paul Norris. Chris, it might help a little to place it in context. For 1949 that’s a nice cover, and for early days of Flash Gordon in comics.

Even out of context, it wins over Walter’s runner-ups,,,except for the FF and Doc Doom. That’s pretty sharp, just suffers from a feeling that didn’t Kirby already do that? If not, its a nice job of channeling the King, and you know Byrne did a lot of that, which is okay. But I still think it could have won today.

Don’t like World’s Finest at all. Static for me. And Flash, the idea is good and draws me in, but body proportions/perspective doesn’t work, its awkward.

Derrick
Derrick
5 years ago

I have to side with the choices Chris offered in yesterday’s comments, and think Batman #247 and Unknown Soldier #247 were the top choices today along with the FF #247 cover. The FF cover felt like a mix of Big Bad Doom covers across FF like #39, #57, #84, & #86, with a splash of the image of Dr. Doom after he stole the Beyonder’s power in the original Secret Wars series.

I also liked the Flash Gordon cover, and Bud’s comment about context seemed appropriate, but felt it fell a little short of the other choices.

tim hammell
tim hammell
5 years ago

80 pages for a buck!? All these covers are new to me so always surprising. Flash has nice technique but his posture is that new cartoon pelvic/neck slouch which bugs the heck out of me. World’s Finest would be a bit of a shock to see on the drug store rack. FF and Flash Gordon are pretty good though I’d like a bit more going on in the latter.

Gerald Eddy
Gerald Eddy
5 years ago

Ok… I can see Walts take and Buds support is a nice facet. On the other hand I can see Chris’s take that its a bit cartoony. I like the cover but its no Alex Raymond… and its also no Frazetta either ( although not same character but same theme). I am on the fence about it. I like Chris’s suggestions from yesterday but as for best of the day only feel they are contenders. I always love our friend Doom… he is probably why I got into comics initially as the first comic I remember have bought for-me was Fantastic Four Annual 2 at the ripe old age of 6. The Worlds Finest is also good with its dystopian megalomaniac cover… sheesh… reminds me of someone today….So, I will go with Walts pick simply for the comic being golden age… sorry for the cop out today.

Gerald Eddy
Gerald Eddy
5 years ago

Or it was a Flash in the pan.

David Mackay
David Mackay
5 years ago

I love the Flash Gordon cover and like the rest as well. Since I watched the history channel, and I recall it was the all Hitler channel for ten years, the Worlds Finest cover doesn’t surprise me at all. In fact it supports Lex Luthors fears, of Superman being, all too powerful. A theme developed much after this book. Well done